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DowJones.com: [Windows faces tough competition from Linux]

"Gates... has taken on the job of chief software architect as
Microsoft readies to take on new competition, ranging from a
merged America Online Inc. and Time Warner Inc., to the surging
popularity of the upstart Linux operating system."

"Commenting on the rise of Linux, the free, Internet-based
computer operating system that competes with Microsoft's Windows
products, Gates said: 'We certainly have Linux and various forms of
Linux as a significant competitor.'

But he added that Linux is 'in essence Unix from 20 years ago,'
and expressed confidence that Microsoft's new Windows 2000 software
will be successful in fending off competition. ... But Windows
faces tough competition from Linux, and the fact that the Internet
is based on a set of common interfaces and protocols that aren't
dependent on any particular operating-system platform, making it
far harder for Microsoft to drive the world toward its
software."